Microsoft SearchPerks If You Search With Live Search

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Microsoft SearchPerks If You Search [news.cnet.com]With Live Search

Microsoft's latest effort to get people to use its search service is something called SearchPerks, which gives people points for using the search engine that can later be redeemed for prizes.

Users who agree to download a small program to track their usage get one "ticket" per day for every Live Search query, up to 25 per day. The program runs through April, at which point users can "cash in" the tickets that they get and trade them in for prizes or donate them to a charity.

"At this time, SearchPerks is a limited promotion, though we remain open to expending availability of the promotion to different browsers and operating systems based on consumer interest," Microsoft said.

[m0thman]

There's a novel idea. If you can't get traffic through being good, just buy it instead. I suppose it makes a change from just stealing it.

[Zamboni]

If people are doing pointless searches and meanwhile clicking on ads to max out their "tickets", I can't see it being a good deal for anyone in the long run.

[maximillianos]

If I were an advertiser with MS, I would be dropping my campaigns right about now. It is a lesson that was learned long ago:

If you pay folks for an action, they will do that action, but mostly for the money.

Those searches are going to be 80% crap that folks search for just to make quota and get credits. There is no quality rules in place.

And the fact that you need to bog your machine down with yet another MS program to track it is even funnier. You would think Microsoft would be able to create a nice embedded web application into their search site that allowed users to log in and track their searches.

But a program you need to install? Common Microsoft... join the new millennium.

[travelin cat]

That is just pitiful. They have failed so utterly and now they think this will help? The wheels are falling off of the MS wagon.

[scraptoft]

I've heard worse ideas.. MS might lose advertisers at present but they might gradually recover the losses in market share in the future.

[pageoneresults]

And here I was starting to really get into Microsoft Search and then this? Come on MS, this has been done before and failed. Scrap that one and think of something else before that plan ruins what is left of Live! Yes, it will ruin what you have left within 30-60 days. Do you know that there are entire countries who have people at home who do this for a living? Ya, they do. And, once this goes viral, I'm sure your metrics will be skewed tremendously toward specific countries.

I was ready to give you my undying support, I really was. Actually I still am, I don't see this going far at all. If it does, it will be regionally specific and we'll probably see you lose another percent or two of market share which you cannot afford to do right now!

[malcolmcroucher]

I think this is where search is headed , points for search or prizes or money for search .

Why would i want to use another programme which generates a copius amount of money to an organisation for searching for something ?

I would rather earn a small income a bit like having an adsense ad or even better a loyalty programme for the web .

all fair and well earning billions off the web but what about joe average ... shareholder activism in a sense ?

my 2 pennies

[amznVibe]

30% cashback on ebay is good enough for me.
But how long can they keep up paying people?

People will use Google for day-to-day search and then Microsoft when they want to shop. Maybe Microsoft should just buy pricegrabber and get it over with?

[BillyS]

Advertisers should run, not walk, from Live.com. Is everyone at MS clueless?

[IanKelley]

I would rather earn a small income a bit like having an adsense ad or even better a loyalty programme for the web.

As with every other attempt at this kind of marketing, abuse destroys any potential value.

But that doesn't mean that it won't increase MS share of search on paper, which may be their only goal with this.

[tangor]

Limits have been specified. Costs are known. Folks will come for the goodies. What goodies there are.

Nothing wrong with this kind of advertising. Brick and mortar, credit cards, and even your local phone company do this all the time. Ain't killed advertising yet....and if costs are known, never killed a company either.

[tripleox]

Another crumby promotion. And if this wasn't feable enough try going to their site using Firefox!

...you must have Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher to participate...